At Boettcher Concert Hall on Friday, guest conductor Joana Carneiro and cellist Alban Gerhardt made magic in works by Tchaikovsky and Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov.

“Mariel” for cello and orchestra is Golijov’s tribute to a friend whose sudden passing inspired profound grief, as well as remembrance of her vivacity. The Portuguese conductor and German soloist seamlessly depicted the work’s waves of deeply moving melodic lines.

Denver has a thing for Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff and we’re not sure why.

Maybe his lush, romantic themes play well against those mountains in our backdrop. He’s an indulgent composer, the kind of guy who takes on big challenges, and that’s us, too. He’s also a bit showy, simple and easy-to-like. I’m not sure we want to be all those things, but kinda, sorta, we are.

Whatever it is, classical audiences tend to show up when he’s on the program. and that’s the case this weekend as the CSO preforms Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances.” It’s part of a highly romantic night of music that also features Debussy’s “Petite Suite” and Tchaikovsky’s “Variations on a Rococo Theme.”